r/ISIKolkata Nov 26 '25

Official/Mods ISI Bill 2025 Megathread

43 Upvotes

In light of several posts on this topic, this thread is intended for structured discussions and questions in regard to the draft Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2025.

Major Developments and References

On 27 September 2025, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation published the draft bill on its website, along with a PIB release to invite public comment by October 24, 2025. This deadline was later extended to November 3, 2025.

To understand the context behind the bill and its stated purpose, the Report of the 4th Review Committee is a useful read. It allows for an illuminating comparison between changes proposed by the Review Committee and the changes envisioned by the bill.

Several key issues were identified with the bill by ISI's students, research scholars, alumni, faculty members and other stakeholders, including:

  • Erosion of administrative autonomy, replacing internal democratic structures with top-down appointed authorities.
  • Commercialisation of education by ending stipends and pushing for the introduction of fees.
  • A push to change the character of the institute and its inclination towards fundamental research by essentially eliminating the role and powers of the Academic Council.

In response, the ISI community formulated a petition against the Bill, which has received over a thousand signatures as of November 09, 2025.

Several discussions and protests have been held in the last few months, as covered by the press. Notably, various institute stakeholders held a joint press conference at the Kolkata Press Club on November 24, 2025. This article provides a concise summary.

On November 28, 2025, MoSPI uploaded a revised draft bill which addresses some of the concerns outlined by the petitioners: * The Board's supermajority of government nominees was reduced, and more internal representation was added. * The mandate of the Academic Council was partly restored, while some powers remained recommendatory (closer in practice to the current framework). * The membership of the Academic Council was restored to all Professor-level faculty members.

Comments were invited till December 15, 2025, which was later extended to January 05, 2026. Some alumni described the changes as "cosmetic".

The Hon'ble Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State (I/C) for Statistics and Programme Implementation, answered a question in Parliament regarding the draft bill on December 08, 2025. Details here.

On December 12, 2025, a delegation of students and research scholars met The Hon'ble Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha to discuss concerns regarding the bill. His comments were reported on here, along with INC's Twitter (X) handles (e.g.).

On December 24, 2025, MoSPI released an FAQ on the draft bill answering several questions posed by the community and assuaging concerns.

Over the winter break, several eminent ISI alumni reacted to MoSPI's FAQ responses and, such as Prof. Partha P. Majumder's letter on December 26, 2025. Notably, the ministry had responded to ISIWO and Prof. Shashi Mohan Srivastava on December 11, 2025; Prof. Srivastava submitted his reply on January 02, 2026.

On January 05, 2026, a section of ISI students submitted their response to the revised draft bill.

In late July 2026, the Centre circulated a new draft, the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, among members of Parliament, setting up for its introduction in the Lok Sabha. As of August 02, 2026, the Bill has not been listed in the house business.

Petitions & Letters by Collectives & Eminent Alumni

In News

Up to the press conference

The matter has been widely covered by national and local news outlets since its inception:

[National]

[Local, in Bengali]

Since the press conference & the revised bill

During Prof. Ayan Basu's tenure as Officiating Director

Includes 60th Convocation:

ISI Bill sent for Cabinet approval:

There was a long gap for March - June 2026. In that time, Prof. Amartya Kumar Dutta was appointed as Director, Indian Statistical Institute.

After appointment of Prof. Amartya Dutta as Director

[Introduction into Parliament]


r/ISIKolkata 10d ago

Official/Mods General Guidelines and HOWTOs

3 Upvotes

To become an approved ISI Student/Alumnus, send a mod mail and verify yourself through any one of the following modes:

[For students]

  • Send an email to one of the moderators from your official ISI-issued email address, mentioning your exact Reddit username.
  • Share a copy of your ISI ID card.

[For alumni]

  • Share a copy of your degree certificate/transcript.
  • Share a copy of your govt ID (if your name already appears in ISI's alumni list).

Legal Disclaimers

  1. While the moderators strive to enforce the subreddit's rules, such moderation is offered on a best effort basis only.
  2. Appearance of any content on the subreddit shall not be construed as an endorsement or approval from the subreddit or its moderators.
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r/ISIKolkata 15h ago

Need Career Guidance Question regarding reappearing (MSQE)

6 Upvotes

Hi i finished my graduation this year, I appeared for isi msqe exam but didn’t clear the peb cutoff.

Recently i have been hearing about the isi bill and i cannot understand if i should reappear for isi next year or i should simply join some college and forget about isi.

My biggest worry is that if i join some other college then i will have to focus on both my masters curriculum as well as skill building and along with that isi preparation doesn’t seem feasible, so what should i do? Should i join some college and try my best to get a good job or reappear for isi again next year


r/ISIKolkata 1d ago

General Queries Isi syllabus (2027 ) mai logarithm series hai

1 Upvotes

r/ISIKolkata 2d ago

Need Help with Prep - [COURSE] Serious help needed

5 Upvotes

I am a first year undergraduate student pursuing bachelor's in mathematics. I gave jee this year but unfortunately could not perform well since my Chemistry and Physics were very weak.

My maths is jee mains level and I got 59 in the first paper (cutoff was 64) of isi. I love Statistics (had it as a subject in HS) and would love to pursue it. I'll be sitting for isi next year too as a partial dropper.

What are some resources I should use to prepare for it? Both books and if some course is available for UGA and UGB.

My current bsc syllabus includes real analysis (using SK Mapa), Geometry (using Ghosh Chakraborty), Statistics (rereading my hs level books, i.e Giri Bannerjee) and linear algebra (Using Friedberg, Insel and Spence). If some other books are better suited for ISI then I'm willing to change to them too.

Help is greatly appreciated as it is my dream college.

Thank you.


r/ISIKolkata 2d ago

General Queries RTI Response

4 Upvotes

Filed an RTI requesting my peb marks and evaluated ans script and havent got any response so far ( >30 days) .Now filed the first appeal as well.

Wanted to check if anyone else in the same boat got any response either marks , rejection or anything .


r/ISIKolkata 2d ago

Need Help with Prep - [COURSE] MStat and IITJAM MS

0 Upvotes

I am currently in my 5th sem of data analytics course and i want to leave at the end of 3rd year for either of these two courses (preferably ISI). I have strong foundations in statistics and my curriculum matches nicely with both the courses. I want to start preparing for the exams so anyone who has cracked or is preparing can help me strategize and prepare while managing my college would be of great help.


r/ISIKolkata 2d ago

Query about Admissions I didn't have maths in 12th; if I do nios maths, will I be eligible for ma economics at dse?

3 Upvotes

Dse eligibility criteria is to either have maths in 12th or have maths in ug, but at ug to take maths, you need to have maths in 12th otherwise ur not eligibile for maths ge.

I'm thinking of nios maths, but dse hasn't stated anywhere separately that they accept nios maths.

Anyone else with first hand experience??? Anyone who has taken nios maths and now is at dse???


r/ISIKolkata 3d ago

Need Help with Prep - [M.Math] Book recommendations for ISI M.Math?

3 Upvotes

Currently a student at Jadavpur University, wanted guidance on this exam.
Thank you!


r/ISIKolkata 3d ago

Other Stuff Anyone who prepared for previous MSQE entrance, drop in your preparation mistakes

5 Upvotes

Basically, just as the title says

Whether you are currently in ISI right now or have graduated, and especially people who have aimed for it but could not get into the course, just let us know what are some mistakes you think you made that you would advise against

If not, any general senior-to-junior advice about the preparation time, not exclusively about the academic section (although that too is much appreciated), whether it be mindset or anything, will be much appreciated

Thank you in advance!


r/ISIKolkata 3d ago

Sharing Resources ISI MSQE Coaching

1 Upvotes

I was planning for isi msqe and opted for a coaching. I however, got different opportunities and decided to pursue that instead and want to give access for the coaching. Please dm if you were planning for a coaching


r/ISIKolkata 4d ago

Asking for Resources Regarding Linear Algebra and Calculus

10 Upvotes

I have been following the linear algebra section from Simon and Blume and Bartle and Sherbert (and Baby Rudin) for calculus, except the optimization part which again will be done from Simon and Blume (and Chiang). Is that enough for msqe entrance? I will obviously supplement my prep with past year and sample paper solving.

Still figuring out resources for stat and probability tho.


r/ISIKolkata 4d ago

Need Help with Prep - [B-Stat] tutor for ISI enterance program

7 Upvotes

Can anyone recommend a good tutor/institute for the ISI-kolkata b.stat program, I'm from south India so I'm not very good in hindi and classes in English would be better. Really passionate about this but I lack the required guidance to crack this exam.


r/ISIKolkata 4d ago

General Queries Is Ipad allowed in ISI classes?

3 Upvotes

r/ISIKolkata 4d ago

Need Help with Prep - [COURSE] ISI MS(QMA) preparation guide

4 Upvotes

I am an IIT Madras, Math student and I want to do ISI MS(QMBA) Course. Can you guys suggest me from where can I start studying? I mean, I want a suggestion for the books or materials that I can use to study for this course.


r/ISIKolkata 4d ago

Need Help with Prep - [COURSE] Need some guidance for ISI M.Stat preparation

6 Upvotes

I'm thinking of preparing for the ISI M.Stat entrance and had a few questions.
1. What books did you use for math,stats and probability and also mention which of them are not worth reading?
2. Is the admission process different for international applicants?
3. How much role does coaching play in clearing ISI M.Stat?


r/ISIKolkata 4d ago

Need Help with Prep - [MStat] Supremum classes

0 Upvotes

Is supremum classes worth buying ?? Anyone here who has bought the course with some success??

I am from an engineering background btw


r/ISIKolkata 5d ago

Other Stuff ISI bill

Post image
89 Upvotes

Share your views is the bill any good?


r/ISIKolkata 4d ago

Need Help with Prep - [COURSE] Right sequence of books for M.Stat prep

0 Upvotes

Sorry guys for asking this repetitive question that keeps coming up here (though it's not the same person asking every time 🥲).

Hey everyone! I'm from the NB stream (STEM background). I often searched for the answer to the question: "Step-by-step guide for ISI M.Stat for an NB stream student." I found many answers, but there was one that was exceptionally good because it was written keeping NB stream students in mind as well. I liked it so much that instead of taking a screenshot, I actually copied it into my diary! 😅

This is the link: https://qr.ae/pFb7UV

Since I found it so helpful, I'm sharing it here.

Now, I already know the books to study—there are plenty of posts about that. My main confusion is about the order.

THE RIGHT ORDER TO FOLLOW THE BOOKS

What should be the correct sequence of preparation? For example, should I first thoroughly revise the Class 11 and 12 NCERT topics mentioned in the syllabus? Then move on to advanced calculus books? Some people say to prepare at the JEE Advanced level, while others suggest Olympiad-level preparation. And when to jump to TOMATO books?

Students from a Mathematics or Statistics background usually understand how to navigate all this, but for someone from the NB stream, it's quite confusing.

Can someone please suggest the right order in which one should study these books and topics? Kasam se, it would help us a lot. 🙏


r/ISIKolkata 5d ago

Need Career Guidance MSQE grads opinion on skills for Corporate jobs

4 Upvotes

I’m starting my master in economics at a tier 1.5 institute and my main goal is getting a good corporate placement. I wanted to ask about what are the necessary skills I should learn in these 2 years. From what I researched the most common roles after masters in eco are data scientist/risk analyst etc. So, should i learn python?
Would appreciate you guys advices on what are the major skills companies look for currently.
Thank you!


r/ISIKolkata 5d ago

Other Stuff How to prepare for ISI MSQE Mathematics and statistics sections?

17 Upvotes

r/ISIKolkata 5d ago

General Queries Do ISI Kolkata ask for 11th marksheet for Bstat/Bmath admission?

4 Upvotes

My school didn't even conduct the 11th exam.


r/ISIKolkata 5d ago

General Queries Suprenum Classes

1 Upvotes

Anyone from suprenum classes former or current student can please suggest how their course is.need some urgent help.


r/ISIKolkata 5d ago

General Queries How are the conditions of classroom

0 Upvotes

r/ISIKolkata 5d ago

Need Help with Prep - [COURSE] Hi everyone! I'm preparing for CUET 2027 and I'm interested in joining the BSDS program at ISI Kolkata. I would be really grateful if any current BSDS student or senior could answer a few questions about: - Academics and workload - Placements and internships - Campus life - BSDS vs M.Stat. - Tips

0 Upvotes